


Heat Haze

by afteriwake



Series: afteriwake's 40th Birthday Celebration [6]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Developing Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Episode: s03e02 The Sign of Three, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Leaving Together, Making Out, Missing Scene, Molly Hooper Loves Sherlock Holmes, Molly goes after Sherlock, POV Sherlock Holmes, Pre-Relationship, Sherlock Has Secrets, Sherlock Holmes Has Feelings, Sherlock Holmes Loves Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:00:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28944078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Sherlock has a secret, feelings for someone that he keeps buried deep down. But what happens when he thinks he's all alone, that no one cares, and that person shows him otherwise?
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper
Series: afteriwake's 40th Birthday Celebration [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2122401
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Heat Haze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MizJoely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizJoely/gifts).



> This fic is written for **MizJoely** , who asked for a tret with the prompt " _Sherlolly + 40? Many happy returns of the day!_."

“And many happy returns of the day!”

The toast from Janine was much less exciting than his, but it made sense because he had solved a murder. Or rather, stopped a murder from happening. But tonight, things should never have been that exciting. It should have been normal, because his best friends deserved normal. Sherlock’s gaze drifted to Molly, sitting by Lestrade and her...fiance. She deserved normal, too. But she had seen him stab Tom’s hand, so maybe she didn’t want normal. Maybe she could want him.

 _Mycroft probably thought I was going to be bereft at losing John by my side. He’s been away from my side for years now and never really came back. No, it’s Molly that saddens me. It’s always been thoughts of her._ He shelved the thoughts as the first course came out, and he unfolded his napkin to receive the food onto his plate. He’s folded all forty of the napkins that were being used, because folding the napkins was much like folding origami as a child: it slowed his mind and let him breathe.

 _She always slowed my mind, but in a good way_ , he thought to himself. Molly was smiling now, but Tom looked irritated. Even if she never chose him, she deserved better than an inferior imitation. But how could he tell her that without admitting feelings he wanted to keep buried? The deeper down his longing for Molly was buried, the better. It would keep him safe. Her, too.

Dinner went so slowly, but the violin performance went so fast, and soon he felt no reason to stay. No one needed him, no one cared.

No one except her.

He’d made it twelve paces out of the reception hall when he heard the fast click of heels behind him. He stopped and turned, and she stumbled into him, forcing him to steady her. Molly was in his arms and it was all he could do to let her go and not pull her close and snog her senseless. “Don’t leave,” she said, catching her breath.

“Everyone is happy,” he said.

“Except us.”

He quirked up an eyebrow. “Us?”

“Tom left. Or he will be leaving. Leaving me, I mean. I gave him back his ring after...everything, I suppose. He told me I could stay with him or run after you. I chose you.”

He hadn’t moved away, even though he’d let her go, and when she closed the gap between them, he held her as tenderly as if she was a fragile porcelain figurine. When their lips met, he tried so hard not to crush her against him, and he managed to hold out until she let out a moan and her tongue slipped past his lips, exploring the recesses of his mouth.

And then it was as though his brain stopped working and instinct took over. Had they not been in a public place, at their friend’s wedding, out in the open, he would have backed her against a wall to show her just how he was affected by her. But she pulled back eventually, leaving them both breathing hard, her eyes clouded with a dreamy haze, and she slipped her hand in his as they raced to the cars meant to take the guests home. His tight grip was a reminder that, at least for now, he had her to himself and at least, at this time and place, he had no intention of letting her go again.


End file.
